GALAPAGOS SILVERSEA EXPEDITION January 2020 Ecuador: Quito & Mashpi Lodge Pre-Cruise Peru: Amazon River Cruise Pre-Cruise Colombia: Bogota & Cartagena Post-Cruise Dear IATL Friends and Colleagues, Susan and I enthusiastically invite you to join us on another Academy “adventure of a life time!” The awesome Mashpi Sanctuary demonstrates the tenacity of man trying to make a difference in the world; saving the environment one jungle at a time. Mashpi’s welcoming committee of astonishing butterflies and iridescent hummingbirds give way to the spectacular eco-friendly lodge. A night hike, guided by a professional Naturalist, with the goal of finding the red glowing eyes of the Wolf spider can be addictive (I add: “for some”). The islands of the Galapagos are the Crown Jewel of South America. From the deck of the lovely Silversea Cruise Ship, the daily multi-mission departures on small Zodiacs equipped with professional Ecuadorian naturalists make for the perfect experience. Underwater and shoreline trips present photo ops of many rare birds and marine mammals, literally, a few feet away! (Think, blue footed booby!) After each full day of adventure, you’ll enjoy gastronomic delights prepared by the hand-selected professional chef, followed by a nightly briefing and naturalist presentation. Sleep will come easily with the soft rocking and ocean breeze sounds as the Silver Galapagos charts her course, carrying you to an entirely new experience. From swimming with sea turtles, to trekking in hopes of finding the elusive desert land iguana, to the rain forest’s giant tortoise, to the oh-so-very playful sea lion, you will awake each morning to the new, unexpected delights daylight brings. As Susan exclaimed when she exhaustedly climbed back into Zodiac after snorkeling with the sea turtles, “Best day ever!” ... then she said it EVERY day after that! Bogota greets you with the most beautiful and abundant fresh flowers, amazing historic structures, friendly, engaging people and fantastic food. From the historic shores of Cartagena, we learned of heroic feats of the indigenous Colombians fighting to protect their lands from the marauding Spanish and English a few centuries ago. They knew it was a hidden treasure worth fighting for! Colombia is a dichotomy of modern times. The contrast of the colonial streets with their quaint shops and the fresh new cuisine served by excited young welcoming faces, together with a separation of powers into the three branches of government and a Supreme Court made us feel optimistic about her future. We hope you’ll accept our heartfelt Montana invite to join us in January 2020! Cliff and Susan Edwards Page 2 | International Academy of Trial Lawyers Cartagena Bogota COLOMBIA Quito Galapagos ECUADOR Islands Iquitos PERU Lima Pre-Cruise Quito & Mashpi Lodge Options or Amazon River Cruise 1 Night Quito & Voyage 1: January 10-18, 2020 Galapagos Islands Voyage 2: January 17-25, 2020 (waitlist only) Cruise Post-Cruise Bogota & Cartagena Options or Bogota only International Academy of Trial Lawyers | Page 3 QUITO, ECUADOR Pre-Cruise A capital city high in the Andes, Quito, Ecuador, is dramatically situated, squeezed between mountain peaks whose greenery is concealed by the afternoon mist. Modern apartment buildings and modest concrete homes creep partway up their slopes, and busy commercial thoroughfares lined with shops and choked with traffic turn into peaceful neighborhoods on Sundays. Warm and relaxed, traditional Ecuadorian Sierran culture is overflowing with market stands, shamanistic healers and fourth-generation hat makers. All of this mixed with a vibrant and sophisticated culinary and nightlife scene. The city’s crown jewel is its ‘Old Town,’ a Unesco World Heritage Site packed with colonial monuments and architectural treasures. Everyday life pulses along its handsomely restored blocks with 17th-century facades, picturesque plazas and magnificent art-filled churches. Travelers and locals alike head to the ‘Gringolandia’ of the Mariscal, a compact area of guest houses, ethnic eateries and teeming with bars. Quito | Pre-Cruise | Page 5 MASHPI LODGE, ECUADOR Pre-Cruise Mashpi Lodge, located in the northwest corner of the Metropolitan District of Quito, Ecuador, offers guests an unprecedented opportunity to explore both cloud and rainforest rich in species and biodiversity from the roots of the trees all the way up beyond the canopy. Your adventures will be accompanied by experienced guides who, more often than not, grew up among those very same trunks and branches. A hideaway in the forest only accessible to its privileged guests and perched on a scenic plateau 3,100 feet above sea level, the lodge features breathtaking views of the surrounding forested mountains right up close through its floor-to-ceiling panoramic glass windows. Like a cathedral to the natural world, it protrudes from the verdant hillside, holding comforts and pleasures within. Mashpi Lodge was built with the latest technology for sustainable construction, such as parts pre-assembled in Quito. Its design blends perfectly with its natural environment. It is strikingly contemporary, featuring modernist design and décor, mixing warm earth tones, steel, stone and glass in salient perspectives: a true cocoon amid the forest. Dining at Mashpi offers another form of exploration and delight. Discover the regions and customs of Ecuador through the fresh local ingredients in the gourmet dishes accompanied by sophisticated wines or cocktails. Offering a range of beauty treatments and massages, the spa allows you to indulge and de-stress, reconnecting with yourself and with the essence of nature. With a massage room on the terrace, treatments come accompanied by uplifting birdsong, to a backdrop of boundless beauty. More than a stunning hotel in an exquisite location, Mashpi Lodge is also a research station and a base for exploration and discovery at the vanguard of rainforest protection. Mashpi Lodge | Pre-Cruise | Page 7 AMAZON RIVER CRUISE Pre-Cruise Named after female warriors of Greek mythology, the Amazon is a place of nearly mythical status. What traveler hasn’t imagined a trip to the Amazon, not only to admire the towering trees and awesome river, but to enter, in a real sense, the very life spring of the planet, the source of so much of the air we breath, the water we drink and the weather we rely on? River travel is still the primary method of transportation in the region as the Amazon rainforest is mainly a roadless wonder. Begin your Amazon River cruise in Iquitos, Peru, a prosperous, vibrant jungle metropolis teeming with the usual, inexplicably addictive Amazonian anomalies. From there you will experience the mighty Amazon, the unadultered jungle and all the wildlife and people who call it their home. Mischievous capuchin monkeys, tasty Amazonian superfruits, smiling locals and rich rainforest scenery will be sure to give you a lifetime of lasting memories. The Amazon’s quintessential experiences are more sublime than superlative: canoeing through a flooded forest, dozing in a hammock on a boat chugging upriver, waking to the otherworldly cry of howler monkeys. On a river whose size is legendary, it’s actually the little things that make it special. Amazon River Cruise | Pre-Cruise | Page 9 GALAPAGOS ISLANDS Silversea Expedition Nearly 180 years after Darwin was first awed by the Galapagos, the islands still do the same for travelers from around the world. The animals steal the show—the penguins playing around Pinnacle Rock, the sea lions seemingly unfazed by human presence—but there is so much more to discover. Part of the magic of any Galapagos voyage is the varied nature of the terrain, wildlife and experiences that each island offers, with each departure offering a well- considered balance. Here is a sampling of the diverse islands that Silver Galapagos visits: SAN CRISTOBAL | Like so many of the islands in the Galapagos, San Cristobal is formed by dormant volcanoes. It lies to the east of the archipelago and is one of the oldest islands in the group. Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, on the southwestern tip of the island, is the capital city of the Galapagos Islands. SANTIAGO | Witness the marks nature has left on the islands through its geological forces. At Sullivan Bay, see lava flows dating back to 1897. Here, the very high temperature of the molten material, as well as its gas content, has caused the surface to be quite smooth. Back at the sandy beach you might want to get ready for snorkeling. Apart from rays in the shallows, turtles are quite fond of the beaches and go there to lay their eggs. BARTOLOMÉ | Just off the coast of Santiago, Bartolomé boasts some of the most magnificent landscapes of the islands including the famous Pinnacle Rock, a towering obelisk at the edge of the ocean. Go snorkeling or take a walk along the beach to look for the Galapagos Penguin, perched on a rock or zooming underwater. ISABELA | Yellow Warblers and Galapagos Mockingbirds may escort your hike between palo santo trees and yellow cordias, passing the briny Darwin Lake along the way. The tallest red mangrove trees in the Galapagos are found in Elizabeth Bay, an idyllic mangrove lagoon and a fascinating place to observe marine life. FERNANDINA | With the gentle slopes of La Cumbre volcano in the distance, the low, lava-forged coast of Punta Espinoza on Fernandina Island is a spectacular sight. Hundreds of marine iguanas rest on the black rock of recent lava flows absorbing heat from the stone and defending their territories against one another. FLORENA | Floreana has been luring visitors since the 18th century when whalers hunted the island for tortoises and pirates sought shelter in its caves. Sailors established a rustic mailing system still in use today: a box – today a barrel nailed to a pole - where they would drop letters hoping they would be delivered by other mariners sailing home.